Social Worker

Directorate: Children's services

Service: Assessment and Intervention

Post title: Social worker

Ref: 001430

Contract Type: Permanent,

Salary: £42,839.35 to £47,180.98 (this post also attracts a retention payment of £2000 after 2 years of service in the role)

Location: Spindles, Floor 8, George Street, Oldham, OL1 1HD

Closing date: Monday 20th April 2026

Hiring manager contact details:

Ben Lawton, Head of Service ben.lawton@oldham.gov.uk

Danielle Wilton, Head of Service, danielle.wilton@oldham.gov.uk

Role overview

We’re looking for skilled and motivated Children’s Social Workers to join our Assessment and Intervention service where you will be part of a dynamic frontline service responsible for responding to new referrals, completing timely assessments, and delivering effective interventions for children and families. Whether you’re managing shortterm work or supporting families through Child in Need plans, you’ll play a key role in safeguarding children and promoting positive change. If you’re an experienced practitioner who can balance fastpaced decisionmaking with thoughtful, childcentered practice, this is an opportunity for you to make a real difference.

Key responsibilities

• Undertake highquality assessments, including Section 17 and Section 47 enquiries
• Respond to duty referrals with professional curiosity and clear risk analysis
• Develop, implement and review Child in Need plans that support sustainable change
• Work directly with children and families to understand their lived experiences
• Collaborate with partner agencies to ensure coordinated, effective support
• Maintain accurate, timely case records and produce clear, analytical reports
• Contribute to team discussions, reflective sessions, and a culture of shared learning

Key Requirements

• Qualified Social Worker with Social Work England registration
• Strong experience in frontline children’s social care, particularly duty or assessment
• Confident in managing risk, prioritising workload, and making sound decisions
• Skilled in direct work with children and building meaningful relationships
• Excellent communication and reportwriting abilities
• A reflective, resilient practitioner committed to highquality practice

About us

We want Oldham to have vibrant, safe neighbourhoods where people are proud to live with opportunities for healthier, more fulfilled lives; and a sustainable, thriving economy. As we look to the future, the challenges may be significant, but so are the opportunities. We’ve identified three missions with our residents and partners, focusing on what will deliver the biggest impact:

A Great Place to Live, Healthier, Happier Lives, and Green and Growing.

We’re looking for candidates who will support us to achieve our ambitions and we encourage you to download our Corporate Plan: Ready for the Future and our Oldham Plan for further information.

Our values and behaviours

By driving innovation, investing in our people, and championing our communities, we will ensure that Oldham continues to be a place where everyone can live their best life. To support this, we have three core values which define who we are and how we operate. These are ‘Proud, Ambitious, and Together’, and they shape our culture, inform our decisions, and inspire us to deliver on our commitments to the people of Oldham.

We have translated these values into five behaviours which guide our actions and are the standards we hold ourselves to, day in and day out:

• Work with a resident focus
• Support local leaders
• Committed to the borough
• Delivery high performance
• Take ownership and drive change

You can find out more about our values and behaviours on our greater.jobs Oldham page

Our benefits package

At Oldham Council we offer a great benefits package for our employees, which includes the following:

• 25 days annual leave which increases after 5 and 10-years’ service
• The option to purchase additional annual leave.
• An attractive LGPS benefit pension scheme with the option to make shared cost additional voluntary contributions.
• Discounted gym membership with Oldham Active.
• Staff discount scheme for shopping, entertainment, eating-out, eating-in, travel, motoring and more.
• Salary sacrifice scheme for home and electronics and Cycle to Work.
• Wellbeing support, including a Mental Health First Aider network and an Employment Assistance Programme that provides 24 hours access to advice and support.
• Staff recognition and celebration events.
• Peer support groups

Inclusive recruitment

We work closely with employees to help them work at their best, including making adjustments such as flexible working, describing available working patterns, providing equipment or making changes to the workplace.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and therefore expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

If you have lived or worked abroad for 3 months or more in the last 5 years or 12 months or more (whether continuously or in total) in the last 10 years whilst aged 18 or over, please refer to the link below for details for how to obtain your Certificates of Good Character. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-records-checks-for-overseas-applicants

Unfortunately, at this time we are not able to offer sponsorship.

If you have completed the GM Elevate (Leadership Development) Programme please indicate this within the ‘About You’ or ‘Supporting Statement’ section of your application.

If you’re an applicant with disabilities and have previously been in or currently in care, a carer, someone who has served in the Armed Forces, or you’ve participated in the GM Elevate Programme, and you meet the essential criteria of the role, you are guaranteed to reach the first stage of assessment under our Guaranteed Assessment Scheme.

Data and privacy

For details of how we use your data please see our privacy notice.
Important information

Please note that should a vacancy that has been released for internal or external recruitment be deemed suitable for a current employee at risk of redundancy, it can be pulled back at any point, up to the post being formally offered to a candidate who is not at risk of redundancy.

Right to Work in the UK from 1st July 2021.doc